Now Is Forever
by Zycho32
Summary: [Cats Don't Dance] Danny and Sawyer on a simple date. So much mush you'll die from it.


AUTHORS NOTE: If you want to look at the dress that Sawyer will wear in this story in a artistic or realistic detail, go to www.vintagetextile.com/30sall.htm and look at number 392.  
  
"Now Is Forever"  
  
A story (Partially requested) by Zycho32  
  
  
  
Reflecting on the past is one of the more interesting abilities in the known universe that is life. The ability to recollect certain events anywhere from 2 minutes ago, to 50 years ago, is a talent that for all intents and purposes should never be underestimated. Such an ability allows us the chance to remember treasured memories, to further prepare oneself for a choice in life quite like a previous one that happened, and finally, you reflect upon your life in general, wondering if you've lived it as well as you possibly could have.  
  
For a one Miss Sawyer McDermid, memories were often a focal point for her, since she often found herself alone with only her thoughts to keep her company. From the day she was born, to when she finally made it to Hollywood, those 3 years spent in seemingly permanent limbo below stardom, and finally, when she finally achieved stardom. She was an intelligent, precise thinker with a wide understanding of topics and quite a few other things. And she often found herself using them.  
  
She knew the workday was over. She knew it was time to get up, leave the studio, and head home. She most definitely knew. But she didn't. She was thinking, not that thinking itself was a bad thing. You have to remember she was often drowning in her thoughts during her life. Put simply, it was a way of life for her to think at an above-average portion of the day.  
  
And, as you've probably guessed, she was thinking about the past.  
  
Well, that's not quite right. She was thinking about the past, but also of the future.  
  
As anybody would know, it's impossible to predict or even guess what the future can hold. Although she wouldn't really admit it, Sawyer knew it was true. She never would have guessed how racially divided Hollywood really was, or how she would spend 3 years staying, waiting for something to occur, or so she kept telling herself. She also would have never guessed that a simple-minded cat would just waltz in and change plenty of views.  
  
A simple-minded, tap dancing, orange tabby cat to be precise.  
  
He himself was something she'd never guess. She knew that plenty of naive animals were to come into Hollywood. She also knew they would eventually see reality. What she couldn't know about this one was that he didn't give up. He put up a good fight, and somehow pulled a trick out of his sleeve at the last moment.  
  
She also couldn't have known about the relationship.  
  
She silently took some time from this particular topic, and mused about one of the more unusual perks of ability to think. Sometimes, there is something within a particular thought that will lead you to a completely different thought. It was always so sudden, and so unnoticeable, until you actually thought about it. She found these sudden trains of thought somewhat amusing.  
  
Then there were the usual distractions and diversions, such as a sudden rustle coming from a set of clothing to her left. She could barely see it, staring from the sides of her eyes. A look of curiosity and confusion crossed her face as she stood up from where she was sitting.  
  
Guess I'll get back to my thoughts later, she thought.  
  
The studio that she was in at this particular moment still had a couple lights on, at the center. This left the places near the walls in the dark. One such spot in the dark held several racks of clothing, for actors to get into. In fact, one whole corner was reserved as a temporary costume room.  
  
For the most part, she was silently wondering to herself why she was wandering into the darkness in pursuit of whatever lurked here. Although she had more than adequate senses of smell, sight, and hearing, she also had to admit she didn't have much of a way of defending herself, except for small claws on her small fingers.  
  
She carefully worked her way past the racks of clothing, lined up perfectly with one another. The costumes themselves were widely varied. Costumes that could be used for gatherings, westerns, sea adventures, war movies, social events, and various other things. Sawyer would be the first to admit; she tried on nearly all of them...well, just the female clothing.  
  
Then she stopped, halfway past the lines, right between two sets of clothing which were separated by an unusually roomy gap. She could tell someone was most decidedly nearby. And somehow, she couldn't tell where.  
  
That is, until she felt two arms wrap themselves around her waist. And then came the lips that pressed against her.  
  
There came no words from either her or her mysterious romantic, and yet she knew. She knew whose hands and arms were around her. She knew who's lips were there, pressed against her skin and hair, an altogether pleasing feeling.  
  
She also knew of the blush in her ears due to where those lips were.  
  
He had never kissed her on the neck before.  
  
"Alas, my current place does not permit me to gaze at your beautiful face, which I believe has a lovely dash of surprise on it." He calmly whispered into her ear, as if he had recited the phrase dozens of times, as his arms and face left her and disappeared back into the clothing.  
  
For only a moment, there was a stunned silence from Sawyer, her fingers lightly touching the area of her neck where she felt that almost feathery kiss. Although, she honestly couldn't tell whether she was surprised by his sudden entrance or that kiss itself. Maybe both. For only a moment though.  
  
Then she came to her senses and was the same cat she usually always was. "Been working on your dramatic entrance Danny?" She said with a good half smirk, half smile to her face.  
  
The orange tabby friend of hers, straw boater and all, peeked out from the far end of the clothes rack. "It obviously took you by surprise." He replied with a bigger smile on his face.  
  
"Yes, it most certainly did." She said. "What brings you out here anyway?" Studio 13 was closed a bit early, by lunchtime, in fact. Danny was part of that group. Studio 4, where Sawyer was at, was still doing the full workday. Normally, all those beings in 13 would've just packed it in and gone home for the rest of the day.  
  
Not Danny. Something was up. It had to be, why else would he take the time to wait until the workday ended to visit her?  
  
And by the look of him seeming a little nervous, it was something that he spent quite a bit of time planning.  
  
"Well," he began, "I figured that you wouldn't be doing anything very important tonight, so I was hoping you and I could...well..."  
  
Her eyes narrowed in a gentle way. "Are you asking me out to dinner?"  
  
For a moment, his boater flew off his head and back down. Apparently she guessed right.  
  
"I'd love to go."  
  
  
  
Sawyer carefully placed the bow tie onto her head, doing so with a delicate touch and nimbleness that she possessed. Of course, it never hurt to have small enough hands to do the job properly. One of the gifts of being Persian, she mused.  
  
Danny had told her that the place we were going to had a bit of a formal attitude as far as the dress code went. Otherwise, he kept everything else a secret. A surprise, she figured. This day, he was full of surprises and all....  
  
*Knock, knock! *  
  
"Coming!"  
  
Casually, she stepped out of her room, down the stairs, and walked to the front door. Without thinking twice, she opened it.  
  
Danny momentarily forgot to breathe.  
  
"Wow.... Sawyer, you look...very lovely."  
  
Indeed she was. Sawyer was wearing a white satin dress; traupe textured satin to be precise. It covered pretty much most of her body, except for her head and arms, and from the looks of it, it fit her perfectly. Just to give him a nice little show, she twirled a bit, letting him see the draped bodice panel and the trained, draped skirt. A rope of braided trim was located on the front, on her left side, carefully hiding the set of hooks that held this dress together.  
  
Add together the bow tie on her head, and a light makeup job, and you'd probably have an angel, to Danny anyway.  
  
She stepped out of the door and onto the porch, noting the simple brown dress jacket and light gray pants, complete with a yellowish tie.  
  
"Gee Danny, you seem half-dressed."  
  
"Huh?" This comment took him by surprise. Only once Sawyer began moving her hand just a bit above his head did he realize what she meant.  
  
"I decided to leave my hat at home for this little trip...may I?" He held out a hand in a gentlemanly manner. She took it with a bemused smile. "Aren't we going to get a taxi?"  
  
"I was hoping we could walk there...if you don't mind."  
  
She calmly stepped off the porch, and began walking down the sidewalk. "You enjoy walking?"  
  
"I used to walk a lot back when I was a kid. You could say I grew accustomed to it." He replied.  
  
"I'm surprised you didn't walk from Kokomo to here." She added with a bit of a smirk. He gave a light laugh at that. "I'm not THAT accustomed to it." He retorted, all in good nature.  
  
After the little chuckles had died down, the conversation turned to silence for a moment, allowing Sawyer to think yet again. In many ways, this kind of date left her with a good feeling within, almost to the point of contentedness. And yet, how long could it last? How many more times in her life could she possibly have these kinds of things over and over again, and even if she knew the exact number, what would be different about each one? Could be anything from the exact date, the exact time, the exact location, what she would wear......  
  
Who she would be with.  
  
Perhaps that was the thing she wondered and in a little way, feared the most. There was something about Danny, so comforting, so kind, and very friendly. He was the kind of person one would like to go out with for dinner or something, maybe catch a movie, have a nice conversation....  
  
Maybe share a kiss or two.  
  
She secretly smiled at that. It had been awhile since they had tried going beyond friends, and they had romantically matured in a way. That meant that they tried not to just kiss the daylights out of each other. She had to admit that's damn near what happened for a good while, about a week or two, before it calmed down. They still kissed, of course, but it wasn't too much, and it resembled a comfortable couple, not a heart-struck duet.  
  
Neither would deny that they secretly wished it could go back to the same way, however.  
  
  
  
"We just need to make a right turn here."  
  
She was jostled out of her thoughts. "Wha..? What'd you say Danny?"  
  
He was pointing to his right. "We need to make a turn here."  
  
She turned her head to where he was pointing. "Danny, that is a wall of bushes."  
  
He smiled, and walked over to that wall. He stuck his hand through it, then he stuck the other in. When he spread his hands apart, the wall appeared to be split in half. The smile was pure innocence as he looked towards her. "Thou hast a passageway through, fair lady."  
  
He had also been working on his Ye Old English.  
  
She carefully stepped through the entrance, and he suddenly turned to face him, noses touching. She had this sly smile on her face. Danny was reminded of that one day, the second day he was in Hollywood, during the climax of the first dance he and Sawyer had. The dip, to be precise She was giving him the same exact look as she did on that one day. A look of some sneakiness and slyness, and with a good dash of happiness. One arm of hers was around his neck, in order to keep her close.  
  
He could easily tell she had a hand moving delicately across his face, just enough to make some of his hairs in that vicinity stand on end. "I thank thee, my charming knight."  
  
One reasonably quick kiss on his lips and suddenly, she had moved away. There was no way he could hide the deeply crimson blush that had formed in his ears. It just got deeper as he saw her grin.  
  
"And now we are even Danny." Was all that she said. It was all that she needed to say.  
  
Regaining his senses, he stepped away form the bush wall, and led her to the front of the restaurant. That little short cut took them right to the place, allowing them to only walks a couple yards before they approached the entrance.  
  
"An Italian restaurant?" Sawyer asked.  
  
"You don't like Italian Sawyer?" Danny turned to ask her, a curious look on his face, yet another sign of his naivete.  
  
"No, I really do like Italian, it's just..." She took another glance at the place. "I didn't realize there was one here."  
  
He smiled, and made a wide gesture with his hands. "Sawyer, this is Hollywood! You've been here far longer than I and you've never come across such a place?"  
  
She smiled as well. "It wasn't just that. The salary of a secretary doesn't allow many visits to such places like these."  
  
Danny walked to the door, and opened it, leaving it open in a gentlemanlike gesture. "Sawyer," He said with a knowing smile, "You are no longer a secretary."  
  
She grinned as she walked past him and inside. "I know."  
  
Danny wasted no time in getting a table for the both of them. "I do realize this may be changing the subject but," He said, "If you couldn't afford eating in restaurant like this, how could you afford that dress?" He looks up with a curious look mixed with a smile. "From what I understand, such luxuries cost far more than a simple dinner."  
  
She carefully sat down at her seat. "I didn't purchase it. In fact, it was a gift from my father. Before I left for here." She thinks for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder what the point was in wasting money in such a way, with the depression and all that had set in...."  
  
He silenced her with a raised finger. "Personally, I think he knew what he was doing."  
  
"And that's what I don't understand Danny." She said as he left her face rest on her right hand, her right elbow balancing her arm on the table. "How could he know? 3 years is a very long time, and you can never know what will happen in that time."  
  
Danny smiled one of those smiles where you almost seem wise. "It's not that hard. He obviously knew of your abilities, and he must have figured no matter what happens, you'll eventually reach stardom." He thought for a moment. "And assuming he might have been wrong, he might have presumed you would be able to sell the dress in order to continue to make a living."  
  
She looked up. "You know, I almost did."  
  
"When?" He asked.  
  
She sighed, and closed her eyes, perhaps digging up unpleasant memories within her head. "Remember the Ark disaster? We were kicked out of the studio."  
  
He nodded. "Yes, but I don't see your point..."  
  
And somehow, he was silenced when she opened her eyes, looking right at him. "If there are no Animals in the studio, what good is an Animal agency?"  
  
She could very easily tell Danny got the point. Unemployment. At that rate, it would have been hard to get a job, especially for an animal. So she would have had no choice but to sell the dress for some kind of profit. Perhaps she would have to mortgage her house as well, in order to get a good ride back home.  
  
She sat up straight. "Have you ever wondered why the future is always so foggy?"  
  
He had a slight chuckle. "I asked my mom that question once."  
  
"And what did she say?"  
  
He looked at her. "She said that was because life is like an unknown journey. You can never know what would lie ahead. That's all I could get from her."  
  
"Sounds like sage advice." She commented.  
  
"Not to mention cryptic." Came an interruption form nearby. Danny and Sawyer turned to see a smiling human, dark hair with a bit of a moustache, dressed like a restaurant garcon.  
  
"Well, hello Enrique." Danny said, smiling. "Do you work here?"  
  
Enrique was only an acquaintance to both cats. They first saw him on a boat trip, which had been necessary to film a couple scenes. He had played the bad guy at the time. "When I'm not trying to infiltrate those gangster flicks." He replied with a smirk that held a bit of a smile in it. "How's Jake?"  
  
The cats smiled again. Good old oddball Jake. "Well, he's been telling everyone about this silly little dream he had once, set in a Private Eye kind of world. Mentioned you in it." Sawyer replied.  
  
"Was I a gangster?" Enrique asked with a hopeful look. Danny chuckled. "Of course."  
  
Enrique beamed. "Alright! So, what shall it be?"  
  
Carefully, both cats took a look at the menu. Italian meals were kind of a delicate issue, since any choice was brilliant in taste. And when you add that both cats were somehow reluctant to go beyond the ordinary...  
  
"What do you think about the spaghetti and meatballs?" Sawyer asked.  
  
Danny nodded. "Sounds good to me."  
  
"Excellent. I'll be back shortly." With that, Enrique turned and retreated to deliver the order.  
  
  
  
True to form, the spaghetti with the meatballs was better than good. They were very delicious. Surely neither one of these cats could disagree. They attacked their plates, well, as much as a dignified couple would in a restaurant.  
  
"Do you worry about the future Sawyer?"  
  
She stopped midway in the process of bringing a fork-full of spaghetti into her mouth, just silently looking at him. Danny carefully placed a meatball in his mouth and chewed on it in a proper manner.  
  
She carefully set the fork down. "Perhaps." She said.  
  
He looked at her. "Perhaps?" He had on this knowing smile upon his face, as if knowing that she was hiding something.  
  
She also looked at him. "I'm not too sure if I'm worried or frustrated."  
  
"And why is that?" He asked.  
  
"Because I cannot see what lies ahead."  
  
"Who can?" He replied.  
  
She looked at him for a moment. "I just assumed that many other usually get the grasp at knowing what does lie ahead."  
  
Danny shrugged. "They only think that."  
  
She chose not to delve into the conversation any further, once again grabbing the fork that was pretty much full of twirled spaghetti. That was really the best possible way you could eat spaghetti. You just took a small stab at it with your fork, and then you twirl the fork around a bit so you'd get a decent-sized lump on your fork, wrapped around like some of those scarves that would be around at wintertime.  
  
Her eyes became diverted towards Danny, who was placing one end of a single spaghetti noodle in his mouth, without the use of a fork.  
  
Then she saw him begin to suck on that noodle, as it seemed to slide into his mouth with just a little suction. Sort of like a straw in today's time.  
  
The whole 24 inches of that spaghetti noodle was soon gone...almost. The last couple of inches suddenly flew off course, launched upwards and splat him from the nose up to the middle of his forehead.  
  
For a moment, he just sat and looked at himself, well, as well as one can look cross-eyed at a thin line of pasta that is on your face like this. Sawyer? Well, she smiled, grinned, had a bit of a giggle, and then when she couldn't hold it back any longer, she laughed.  
  
"I swear Danny, you are almost like a child!" She managed to say between laughs.  
  
He could only smile back, having a major blush in his ears again.  
  
  
  
"It's like the fountain of youth."  
  
Sawyer had to admit it was beginning to get tiring being shaken from her thoughts by words from her companion as they were walking down the street towards her house. However, curiosity had gotten the best of her. They do say curiosity kills the cat, she thought. Not that she really cared about that human term; it just had an honest ring to it at this point.  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
Once again, he had the wise smile on his face, and holding a finger up to the sky, he said, "Having the heart of a child is the one true fountain of youth." He opened his closed eyes, and his smile suddenly became the same smile he usually wore. "You may become old on the outside, but the inside shall remain eternally young."  
  
She had a slightly skeptical look on her face. "Since when does a farmboy from Kokomo become so philosophical?"  
  
He chuckled. "I work on it."  
  
She smiled. "You really are something else Danny."  
  
"I could say the same about you." He retorted, leaving whatever else he would've, or could've, come up with just vanish into the back of his brain unsaid. Perhaps it'd be for the better.  
  
It was about half a minute of silent walking that Sawyer once again turned to her companion, obviously not letting things be. "How in the world can you believe in such a notion about being eternally young on the inside? You have not grown old with wrinkles and other aging blemishes that will forever hide the youthfulness that you possess in your face and the rest of your body, and neither have I for that matter."  
  
"Do I have to, in order to understand? I'm well aware that we both will age eventually, and our youth will disappear all in due time Sawyer. Alas, that is life. And yet," He said, the same smile never fading, "well...perhaps I should show you something."  
  
She had just a slight skeptical look on her face. "What exactly is it you want to show me?"  
  
For just a moment, the smile contained certain slyness to it, as if what he had up his sleeve would truly be astounding. "You'll find out, and I hope it'll be worth the wait."  
  
  
  
One could possibly imagine what Hollywood was like back in the old days of 1939, or somewhere around that time in general, when these characters came upon the spotlight, so to say. In fact, one could imagine it was actually smaller back then than now. And understandably so, since the general population was smaller then.  
  
Back then, on the east edge of town, there was a set of gentle looking hills, which were usually very green, and had the occasional tree and flower, like all green hills do. And somehow, those hills contained a breathtaking view of the ocean that somehow wasn't obscured by the city itself. It didn't matter what time of the day, or night, it was. It was marvelous either way.  
  
It was about sunset when Danny and Sawyer arrived at these hills.  
  
"I believe you've gone mad Danny." Sawyer said, as they stopped at a tree on the top of one of those hills. She wasn't exactly exhausted from the long walk, yet she had to admit she was getting rather sore in the feet. Remember that designer animal shoes were about a long time away. "Going this far to a romantic place. I mean, you could've just told me the lesson..."  
  
"Which you probably would have just brushed away after a while." Danny replied. "Not that you actually would, but there's always a possibility." He sat down right next to the tree, in the direction of the ocean. "Have a seat."  
  
Sawyer complied, sitting down next to him, to his right, all the while mumbling about getting her dress ruined from sitting on the ground. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to pull something...romantic."  
  
"Well, it could be considered romantic," Danny admitted, "but it's not the intention."  
  
They sat in silence for a moment, looking out at the sunset, not quite marveling at the splendor of it, but rather fascinated with it. "This might sound crazy, but is this the first time you've seen a sunset in Hollywood?" Danny asked, right out of the blue. The moment he saw the blush in her ears, he knew he had guessed right.  
  
"I come here once a week, maybe more if I really want to. It's really a peaceful and beautiful place." He continued.  
  
"And what's the lesson?" She asked.  
  
"Whatever will happen, or has happened in life, like before and after this sunset, does not matter one bit. What really matters is this exact moment, while the sun is actually setting." He explained, the wise look coming into his face yet again.  
  
"Now is forever." She whispered.  
  
"Exactly." He replied in the same tone.  
  
At this point, Danny somehow found a focus on every bit of reality around them and found that his face was just several inches from hers...a irresistible temptation arose from him to just take her in his arms and kiss her, like the gentle rose that she really was. Alas, he did not, for he couldn't quite see himself in the role of the seducer.  
  
At least, seriously being the seducer.  
  
Suddenly, a new sensation made its presence known; The near silky feel of fur casually, almost tantalizingly, moving along his right hip, up towards his stomach and chest, whatever there was of it. He guessed that it had to have been her tail. And yet, he made no reaction until he suddenly felt the tail touch against his neck, and slowly brushing along his face, setting every individual hair that had been touch standing on end.  
  
To him, it almost felt like he was burning in those spots.  
  
When he brought himself into focus again, he suddenly realized her angelic face was coming closer, and closer, and closer. The pace was slow, smooth, and downright maddening for him. Although she only had to move a couple of inches, he felt like she was miles away.  
  
Soon, she had closed the distance to almost none. Her look held a slight tone of passion, the kind that was always within the young. Her copper eyes stared into his emerald green eyes with an intensity that dared to blind him, not that he cared. He wouldn't have minded as long as those eyes were forever burned into his memory.  
  
Her lips moved to his, a sensation close to impossible desire flowed from within him as he eagerly awaited the sweet feel of lips pressing together in glorious union with one another.  
  
Closer...closer...closer...  
  
And suddenly she stopped.  
  
She got up, carefully watching his amazingly surprised face come into a look of realization, and then suddenly, she grinned.  
  
"I have the advantage now."  
  
  
  
Ever wonder just how much you can miss when in Hollywood? And not just a simple location or even a sunset mind you, but other grandeur things can be easily overlooked. Take the starry sky at night, for instance. Of course, a casual observer cannot help but overlook because of the lights that are on at night. The lights simply dull the brightness of the stars above, unless you found yourself in a big enough space to escape some of the illumination.  
  
Now, a number of things could happen. Perhaps a building or two lost power, or maybe shut down its business early. There could be some projectile from some silly kid, or a real wacko of a guy with an insane arm (hint, hint). But whatever combination of those events is simply irrelevant.  
  
What IS relevant is that just the right combination of lights going out to provide a splendid view of the stars along a big park in the city.  
  
And by pure coincidence, that's where our two feline companions are travelling across now.  
  
Danny had to admit it was such a splendid sight. So splendid in fact, that he stopped walking and just stared upward into the sky, looking at all the constellations and individual stars, recognizing some of the names, and making up dozens of other names just so he could remember them and maybe look them up later.  
  
"So, you're surprised when I say I never found the time to find a simple restaurant or a sunset, but I should be surprised that you have evidently not seen stars in the night sky since you arrived?" Sawyer commented.  
  
"What, a couple months compared to three years? How could I compete with that?" He retorted back. This remark was only met with a smile from Sawyer.  
  
"I presume you spent many a night looking up at the sky Danny?" She asked. He nodded.  
  
"Hmmm....could you say you've ever danced under the night sky?" She asked again. No nodding.  
  
This time, she whispered in his ear. "Actually, you have. "  
  
"No, that time was under a full moon." He corrected. He remembered that little dance on the ship very well, right up to the moment where the resident oddball of the gang, none other than Jake, had intruded at the last minute. He recalled the golf clap, the neat smile on his face, as if he was all right with such a display. For him, a seemingly natural child at heart, to act so accordingly mature, was a nice sign.  
  
"So?" She asked.  
  
"That means I have never really danced under a fully starry night sky, with no moon in sight...and if my hunch is correct, you'd like to share the opportunity with me." It was a risky venture asking such a thing.  
  
Carefully, he turned his head around, and what he saw was a smile. He had guessed right.  
  
Wordlessly, he held her hand with his and twirled her slowly, leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world to savor the moment. Perhaps they both did, for what was time? It was only a measurement of sorts. To this couple, time was eternal. All that mattered was what was happening right then and there.  
  
After just a moment in the twirl, they joined together and stepped to an imaginary beat, the slow kind, the kind that was normally considered for all the old geezers and hopelessly romantic beings. They stepped as if one to the right, then to the left, moving in a circular fashion, in such a smooth motion across the sidewalk that one could actually suspect that they were floating in the air.  
  
He marveled in how her radiance glowed in the twilight of hundreds of glittering stars up above them. He was amazed how it glowed off her dress, off her own fur, then how it glinted off her brilliantly copper eyes in such a way that they appeared to be sapphires glowing within a black void, as it seemed.  
  
Once again, she was like an angel.  
  
She found it simply astonishing. This orange tabby, with his plain suit and pants and his plain lifestyle, was displaying various traits that somehow didn't strike her as simple. She remembered him to have displayed these things as well on that boat trip, but at the time, she had him figured to be playing the part of an actor. Him, in that tuxedo, in the moonlight, moving so fluidly that she had ever growing thoughts that this tabby was not real, that he was but a figment of her imagination, brought on by the lack of something that she craved, although she could not place it. And now, he was displaying the same things, and felt, smelled, tasted, was so real...  
  
How had such a gentleman been bred into such a common cat?  
  
Ah, but what kind of music could be played in such delicate waltzes such as this one? One can imagine a gentle array of jazz instruments, saxophones perhaps. Maybe even a piano solo mixed in with a flute of some type. The tune would be as slow as they danced, as smooth as they moved, as romantic as they are. And they were very romantic on this night, on this occasion, in this dance.  
  
Rivals they should have been. He, an upstart young cat from a farming background, whom only got a jumpstart from the potential glory of Hollywood shown only in those old-fashioned sing and dance movies. Her, taught since an earlier age, her social background the exact opposite to his, but fueled by the same desire as his.  
  
Desire. Perhaps that is what brought these two together instead of apart. The desire to dance. The desire to grab a partner and engage into one of the most honored and cherished actions one or two beings could ever hope to experience.  
  
And then they stopped in their custom way. A dip.  
  
Both had flashbacks to that one night, not too long after they had both achieved stardom with their friends in a powerful display that was as unexpected as thrilling. That night, they had a small little practice dance, which also ended with a dip. And then it followed with a kiss, which not only brought a thrilling climax to the very thing, but also brought these two to the next step while realizing what they had done wrong in the process.  
  
This did not end in a kiss though.  
  
All they did was stare into each other's eyes in a mysterious feeling of wanton. It was hard to describe for either of them. They felt immensely content just sharing a certain gaze between them that bordered on touching each other's souls.  
  
They were both smiling warmly.  
  
  
  
The walk back to her house was just as ordinary as most of the walks, with all the small chatter that would go on between beings. Sawyer had to admit, she had an exhilarating time with her companion this exact night, the restaurant, the sunset, the moonlight dance...  
  
The constant one-upping of each other.  
  
She thought it odd he hadn't made his move yet to settle the score. She had to admit it also disconcerted her, because she had no idea when, where, or how he would act towards her. How could he top her this time, she wondered.  
  
Then it hit her that she never really was left to wander with her thoughts since just after dinner.  
  
Perhaps it really did make sense. Before, she always had too much time to think about what could happen next that it discouraged her in a slight, but apparent way. However, when Danny got her mind of such little mental endeavors, she became more optimistic, more cheerful, more encouraged about events all around her.  
  
Finally, he walked her up her front porch to her front door. "Well, I'd like to thank you for letting me take you out tonight." Danny said, in an ever-gentlemanly way. He did everything except for the bow. It probably would have looked silly anyway.  
  
"You know Danny, I really should be thanking you." She replied, with a warm smile. "Goodnight."  
  
The same naive smile was back on his face. "Goodnight Sawyer."  
  
Silently, she turned around to step into her house. She felt she would have a good night's sleep tonight, with all the excitement happening today and everything he showed her....  
  
She wasn't prepared for the pair of arms once again wrapped around her waist in a gentle yet possessive way. She instinctively turned her head around...  
  
And caught his lips perfectly.  
  
For what felt like forever, the couple just stood there, eyes closed, lips connected in a tender embrace. His arms around her waist, her arms on his, perhaps to make sure he didn't remove them. Slowly, a soft wind breezed through, causing his suit and her dress to begin fluttering against the wind. The bow on her head was also moving with the wind, although not as much.  
  
When they finally parted lips, they could only look at one another with a sense of awe at what just happened. Both felt short of breath, not to mention briefly dazed. There was just an eternity of silence between them.  
  
Then he smiled. "Now we're even."  
  
And just like that, he was strolling down the steps of her porch, occasionally doing a bit of a jig from time to time. And all she could do was watch him, still unable to speak form what she experienced.  
  
Then she smiled.  
  
She would be sleeping very well tonight.  
  
  
  
THE END  
  
((Comments? Complaints? Couple of Flames and Requests? Bring them on!!! E- mail me at 32psycho@usa.net and let me know what you thought!)) 


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